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Singer, poet, and lyricist MEREY<\/a> is among a younger group of artists bringing a different sensibility to music in Kazakhstan. Her work is rooted in Kazakh-language expression, but it also pushes beyond familiar expectations of how a female singer should sound and present herself.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Times of Central Asia<\/em>, MEREY discusses the influence of poetry on her lyrics, the reaction to experimentation, and what she believes is missing from Kazakhstan\u2019s contemporary music scene.<\/p>\n TCA: <\/b>Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get into music?<\/p>\n MEREY:<\/b> I came to music at 17, that\u2019s when I wrote my first song in English. Before that, for as long as I can remember, I had been writing poetry; it was my first form of self-expression.<\/p>\n During my school years, I also studied music more formally. I played in a national orchestra, where I both sang and performed dombra parts. That experience strongly shaped my sense of stage presence and musical language.<\/p>\n Today, I position myself as a poet, singer, and lyricist. For me, text and music are inseparable.<\/p>\n TCA: <\/b>Who or what influenced your artistic development the most?<\/p>\n MEREY:<\/b> Since school, I have read the works of Mukaghali Makatayev, a classic of Kazakh poetry known for lyrical verses about love, homeland, and the human experience, and Fariza Ongarsynova, a prominent poet who wrote about emotions, time, and women\u2019s lives. They left a deep mark on me as a poet, and echoes of their style can be found in my lyrics.<\/p>\n As a teenager, I listened to Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey, and The Neighbourhood. Later, Mitski, Zemfira, Valentin Strykalo, and B\u00f8rns<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0Now I feel close to what Chappell Roan and Meg Myers are doing.\u00a0My taste leans toward alternative music with an emphasis on vocals, lyrics, and guitar riffs, with a slightly detached aesthetic. This directly informs my own music.<\/p>\n TCA: <\/b>Your music is often described as a blend of traditional elements and modern electronics. How did this sound take shape?<\/p>\n MEREY:<\/b> I wouldn\u2019t fully agree with the phrasing about electronics, but my sound is in many ways inspired by Darkhan Juzz. He was the first artist from Kazakhstan who truly impressed me with his sound.<\/p>\n I come from a Kazakh-speaking background, so my lyrics tend to be more literary rather than conversational, unlike many artists of the new school. That\u2019s thanks to my parents and my education in a Kazakh-language school.<\/p>\n The modern side comes from my musical tastes, especially the Western scene. My sound combines a Western sensibility with precise, expressive Kazakh language.\u00a0It\u2019s a mix of Western thinking and Kazakh tradition and that is exactly what resonates with listeners.<\/p>\n TCA: <\/b>How important is it for you to preserve cultural roots in contemporary music?<\/p>\n MEREY:<\/b> It is fundamentally important. As I grow older, I become more conscious, and even stricter, about the Kazakh language and tradition.\u00a0I\u2019m glad that today national elements, ornaments, traditional clothing, interest in Tengriism, and the language itself, are once again becoming part of the cultural conversation among young people.<\/p>\n My goal is to promote proper, expressive Kazakh in music. I consciously use idioms, proverbs, and older speech structures that are gradually disappearing from everyday language.\u00a0For me, it\u2019s important that the language of my songs remains pure and precise, even if in everyday life I allow myself more freedom.<\/p>\n TCA: <\/b>Do you feel that music can help reinterpret tradition?<\/p>\n MEREY:<\/b> Absolutely. Music is a universal language that works on an emotional level, even if the listener does not understand the words.<\/p>\n My music is not strictly traditional, but it is precisely through such hybrid forms that listeners from other countries become interested in our culture. People often write to me asking for translations of my lyrics into English, Turkish, and other languages, they want to understand what I\u2019m singing about.<\/p>\n Tradition is not a fixed concept. It is constantly evolving. It is entirely possible that in 20 years, the music of my generation will also be perceived as part of tradition.\u00a0It is thanks to new-wave artists, including me, that young people are discovering Kazakh culture in a new context.<\/p>\n TCA: <\/b>Which traditional Kazakh instruments or musical motifs inspire you the most?<\/p>\n MEREY:<\/b> I am an improvisational dombra player, and the dombra was my first instrument. My musical ability was noticed at school, after which I studied in an orchestra for gifted children, where we combined vocals and instrumental performance.\u00a0I still have my first dombra, which is now more than 12 years old. That\u2019s where everything began.<\/p>\n Although I\u2019ve lost some of my former skill, I still regularly listen to k\u00fcy<\/i> and terme<\/i>, they continue to inspire me.\u00a0I also feel close to instruments such as the zhetygen, shankobyz, and kobyz. Although I don\u2019t play them, I closely follow how they are used in contemporary music.\u00a0For example, I really connect with how the kobyz is integrated into modern genres whether pop, R&B, or electronic music.<\/p>\n In the future, I want to carefully incorporate traditional instruments into my work. For now, it is technically difficult. There are almost no high-quality plugins for Kazakh instruments in digital production software, so everything has to be recorded live.<\/p>\n For example, in my song Nege Bilmedim?<\/em> I had planned to use the kobyz to create an anxious atmosphere, but in the end I replaced it with a violin for that reason.\u00a0I especially liked how the kobyz was integrated into contemporary electronic music in the song Jiber<\/em>, featured on OYU<\/em>. This track is performed by my close friend Mira.<\/p>\n I would also mention songs by Yerbolat Qudaibergenov, Lyazzat Alauy<\/em> and Men Qazaqpyn<\/em>, where contemporary sound is subtly intertwined with traditional dombra motifs. More recently, there is the track Aitshy<\/em>, where M\u2019Dee combines kobyz with R&B, creating an interesting and fresh sound.<\/p>\n TCA: <\/b>Some people are quite sensitive to experiments with traditional music. Have you encountered that kind of reaction from audiences?<\/p>\n MEREY:<\/b> Yes, quite often. The Kazakh cultural space is generally sensitive to newness and I love experimenting.\u00a0My song Carpe Diem<\/em>, where I touch on female sexuality in the Kazakh language, caused a strong reaction.\u00a0More recently, a live performance<\/a> of my song Betperde<\/em> went viral on TikTok, where I experimented with vocal delivery and that triggered a wave of criticism.<\/p>\n People need time to adjust to new things. At the same time, if you look at the Western scene, experimentation with form and presentation is seen as an essential part of artistic expression.\u00a0For example, Mitski uses the microphone as an expressive, sometimes provocative stage object; Chappell Roan works with visual imagery, including deliberately exaggerated elements; Lana Del Rey turns the stage into a cinematic space; Fergie adds strong physical expressiveness and elements of performance.\u00a0Western audiences have largely moved beyond expecting \u201cjust beautiful singing.\u201d Today, listeners care not only about how an artist sings, but what they communicate through performance, image, and concept.<\/p>\n There is still a fixed idea of what a Kazakh female singer is \u201csupposed\u201d to look like: long hair, restrained style, long dresses, traditional aesthetics. When an artist presents a different visual language, it can create dissonance.\u00a0I believe the development of a music scene is impossible without experimentation. Artists must stop being afraid, and listeners must learn to accept the new.\u00a0Kazakhstan\u2019s music scene still has significant room for growth. That growth begins when artists stop fearing experimentation and audiences become more open to innovation.<\/p>\n TCA: <\/b>How do you assess the development of Kazakhstan\u2019s contemporary music scene?<\/p>\n MEREY:<\/b> Honestly, as an artist, I often feel disappointed. There is a lack of new names, fresh sound, and bold decisions.\u00a0Much of it feels repetitive, almost formulaic. At the same time, I recognize that as a listener I might perceive it differently.<\/p>\n TCA: <\/b>In your view, what can make music from Kazakhstan interesting to a global audience?<\/p>\n MEREY:<\/b> First of all, language and culture. We have a very rich cultural heritage, and when it is combined with modern genres, it becomes accessible and compelling to the world.\u00a0When nomadic aesthetics meet contemporary sound, a unique artistic product emerges. That is where our potential for global dialogue lies.<\/p>\n